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The Book List #34

June 10, 2015
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by Sophie Davies

The first time I tried to read this book, I wasn't impressed but the second time I picked up Why Are You So Sad? it really resonated with me; I found it humorous and melancholic. The main protagonist, Raymond Champs, decides the world needs saving. Raymond provides his coworkers with an anonymous survey full of questions - "When was the last time you felt happy?" "Are you who you want to be?" "Is today worse than yesterday? - which he hopes will illuminate the malaise that has befallen the human race. The book doesn't really go anywhere and nothing really happens.. it just feels warm and comforting in a peculiar way.

I am infatuated with old tales, folklore, myths, and legends so I re-read stories from Greek mythology periodically. Tales of the Greek Heroes is a fantastic little book with a handful of the major stories from the heroic age.

I joined in on the #TKAM (re)read between 21st-31st May. It's the first time I got involved with a read-a-long and it was awesome. I've previously read To Kill a Mockingbird and the first time I thought it was just OK - I couldn't understand why everyone thought it was so amazing. This reread made me fall in love with the book. Perhaps it was because I was more engaged or I was consciously thinking more about the story, but I finally discovered the beauty and sadness in its pages that I'd ignorantly missed the first time. To Kill a Mockingbird is an incredibly moving story about a sleepy Southern town facing racial injustice, the destruction of innocence, class issues, and gender roles.